Blue & Gold Brewing LLC, a student-run business venture launched as part of an undergraduate applied learning program in Marquette University’s College of Business Administration, is partnering with Stone Creek Coffee—a local “farm to cup” coffee roastery for over 30 years—to develop a Marquette-affiliated coffee product to be released in fall 2023.
Blue & Gold Brewing was formed in 2022 and partnered with three Milwaukee-area craft breweries to release ’77 Golden Ale on Feb. 4, National Marquette Day. The collaborative coffee project, which will include coffee blend selection, branding and marketing, sales, and distribution, will begin later this year with an anticipated launch just before the winter holiday season.
“Marquette is excited to not only expand its student-run business venture portfolio, but to partner with an industry-leading and mission-aligned organization in Stone Creek Coffee,” said John Knapp, executive director of Innovation Alley, Marquette’s cross-campus innovation accelerator. “Stone Creek is a Certified B-Corporation, which signifies its values and ethical leadership, which align with the mission of Marquette Business. We look forward to this collaboration.”
Stone Creek Coffee has been a coffee partner of Marquette for nearly 20 years and the new venture aligns with the company’s philosophy.
“Initiatives like this match our ‘Never Stop Learning’ motto perfectly,” said Drew Pond, director of development at Stone Creek Coffee. “Creating opportunities for learning and growth around coffee is part of our mission statement. We’re thrilled that the team behind Blue & Gold would choose to work with us as a coffee guide, resource and partner.”
In a first-of-its-kind pilot program, Blue & Gold Brewing LLC launched with plans for a four-person team of undergraduate leaders to oversee production each year. The students are involved in every aspect of the business: leading market research, product selection and naming, supply chain and logistics, finance, graphic design, advertising, marketing, distribution, and entrepreneurial/start-up processes. For ’77 Golden Ale, the participating breweries brewed the beer and handled all operational aspects of the collaboration, including legal and regulatory compliance matters.
Blue & Gold Ventures is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that amplifies and accelerates innovation and engagement to extend Marquette’s mission beyond traditional university boundaries. Blue & Gold Ventures is driven to deliver sustainable value for the university by embracing new and collaborative methods of teaching, learning, research and service.
